IIMs are vastly overrated

The IIMs have miserably failed in making low-cost, high-quality management education available to Indians or creating any original knowledge base. Both IIM-A and IIM-C were started not by academicians but by industrial captains. The focus then was brilliant. Later on sub-standard academicians took over. They cater to miniscule capitalist set-ups without any contribution to management systems and society at large.

It can’t be denied that IIMs were set up by government like other universities have been. So they have to meet the national objectives. Why should they expect more autonomy and different treatment than the other universities?

Why does a university charge only Rs 10,000 fee for MBA and allows only Rs 35,000 fee to an affiliated institute as compared to Rs 1.7 lakh by IIM? Are not we deliberately killing quality of other MBA institutes in India to artificially overrating IIMs? There is nothing unique about them. The huge infrastructure available with them is being wasted and their performance is mediocre.

Placements is the excuse they have found to create hype and for hiding their weak operation. Most of IIMs and their alumni have a nexus and are catering to miniscule capitalist organisations without any contribution to management theories, systems and Indian society at large.

I am sure most people would agree that IIMs have miserably failed in making low-cost, high-quality management education available to citizens of India and creating any original knowledge base and research.

Both IIM-A and IIM-C were started not by academicians but by industrial captains and the focus then was absolutely brilliant. Later on sub-standard academicians have taken over.

The actual performing managers with academic aptitude are deliberately kept out by another useless degree condition of PhD which is not really helpful in technical education for teaching and consultancy.

The IIMs mostly teach from borrowed books and cases from American management system (Read Harvard -- A catch word for IIM-A).

There is huge demand for MBAs in India that they can't meet. What they are trying to achieve is a separate elite class in education system catering to certain section of industry at public expense? Something like IAS cadre.

They have distorted the entire concept of management education in India and placements have been made main focus to sell and create brand. This certainly is not objective of any institute, much less a public owned institute.

While eating into public grants they have been catering to a niche market of capitalists and multinationals.

When there is huge demand for MBAs in India, what is logic of branching out overseas? It is merely their misconception that by opening centres abroad they will become or remain world-class.

For being world-class you have to be innovative and original, which they are not.

Government should simultaneously open up education sector in all technical education including MBA to foreign institutes and universities.

The government should also constitute a national board on higher education to regulate quality and reasonable fee structure for Indian citizens and foreign students separately and ensure high productivity of assets.

I think professionals from industry rather than PhDs should be brought as administrators and senior professors in management and technical institutes.